Mel Keefer and Clare Seghers were wed during the coronavirus pandemic. They adapted their ceremony to include photographs of the attendees who could not physically be in the chapel with them. (Source: Family)

In cars secretly parked outside of the chapel, wedding attendees wore the same smiles captured in the photographs that lined the pews inside.

When the newlyweds exited the church, believing they’d be walking out to an empty parking lot, the secretly gathered attendees honked their horns and shouted congratulations.

Attendees then watched the couple’s first dance from their vehicles.

With the ceremony over, the newlyweds are skipping their honeymoon to continue saving lives.

Both are nurses fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mel treats patients at an emergency room in West Feliciana Parish.

Clare works in the intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients at Baton Rouge General, the hospital where they met.

Together, now as newlyweds, they’re supporting each other through the emotional toll the battle against the virus takes on healthcare workers and are planning for their future together after the pandemic passes.

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